Bizarre finale as referee hands Stade late lifeline

A sensational ending to an otherwise disappointing match. In the 46th second of the 48th minute of the second half Christophe Dominici wriggled out of a tackle to score the try that took his team into the final of the Heineken Cup. It was the first time Stade had been in the lead.

Why referee Tony Spreadbury allowed so much injury time and why, earlier in the second half, he had not spotted a blatant knock-on in the build-up to Stade's first try, will remain a mystery which will accompany me to my grave. Spreadbury had an excuse for the knock-on leading to Jerome Fillol's try as it occurred on the blindside of the maul, but the length of stoppage time was extraordinary. True, there were a number of occasions, especially towards the end, when Biarritz players lay prone on the pitch in glaring acts of gamesmanship, but an extra nine minutes was bizarre.

Spreadbury, though, is an eminently sensible official. If he had made a similar decision in Biarritz, he would very probably have been lynched. As it was, the cheer that greeted Dominici's arm held aloft in triumph in the in-goal area very nearly raised the concrete roof of this old but still magnificent stadium. Stade, you see, play their home fixtures just over the road so Spreadbury had nothing to fear. There were 30,000 home fans to escort him to his dressing room.

Whether either Toulouse or Leicester have anything to fear come the final after this exhibition is debatable. I can't tell you how much I was looking forward to this match. Two French sides riding high in their own championship, the prize of a European final at stake. It couldn't have been set up better but, apart from the delirium at the end, the proceedings were disappointing; under-whelming in fact.

Maybe it was because one of European rugby's biggest stages lacked the cross border element. All the great occasions in this tournament over the years have been tribal in term of the contrasts the teams brought with them. They flagged up little differences which stood out in what is becoming a homogenised sport. Biarritz and Stade simply brought familiarity to the party.

Two sides from the one country just didn't work for the spectators or the players themselves. There was a tribal element in the sense of City slickers Stade against the Basque country bumpkins Biarritz, but it was the rivalry of the familiar. Neither side had anything new to give to, or receive from, the other.

The other factor was the number of mistakes from quality individuals which stripped the contest of flow and bite. There were two yellow cards awarded to Biarritz players, both for tackles - one late and the other high - during the second half but don't for a moment think this was a fiery encounter. Serge Betsen bumped around, putting in a few decent hits, but the rest of the physical exchanges were medium pace ordinary.

And as for technical excellence, almost a God given right of French rugby? Ugh. Stade's Stephane Glas and Damien Traille had their moments. Traille's try on the hour to give Biarritz a 17-6 lead was beautifully simple in concept and execution but that was the exception.

Brian Liebenberg, the South African Stade centre, had one of those matches that makes you wonder why he plays his rugby in France. There was one moment in the second half when he ignored a six-on-one advantage to hoof the ball down field and his last act in normal time, when Stade were chasing the game, was to put boot to ball again instead of searching for an opening. An inexperienced player might have an excuse but Liebenberg is a seasoned international and for him to be anticipating a European final is an outrage.

The other reason the game never erupted was that neither side could get to grips with Spreadbury's interpretations at the breakdown. This is no criticism of the official. Good teams and good players adjust to the idiosyncrasies of officials and Spreadbury's refereeing generally was up to his usual high standard. But Stade and Biarritz did not adjust. They ploughed on and on and a game that had so much to offer was staccato and technically inept.

So, Stade survive to fight on. They will be better next time round when their injured players return but there was no disguising their relief at the way they scraped through. "We always believed we could win," said Stade scrum-half Agustin Pichot. "We knew Biarritz were tiring at the end and we played patient rugby in those last 10 minutes of injury time."

Patient rugby? Dominici's try was the last desperate act of a desperate team but he made it and so did Stade.